Well. I blinked.
One minute, I’m learning to swaddle my sweet girl for the first time, and the next I’m putting together Lively’s first birthday present.
It’s not easy having a winter birthday baby! It seems like we were just trying to find places for her gifts from Christmas. This little Miss has no shortage on toys, so it was a a little tricky trying to decide what to get her. I tend to lean toward a Montessori approach for learning and play. I love letting her figure things out, learn from her experiences, and practice what she sees in the world around her. I love the emphasis on imagination, and solving real life problems. I wanted something she could grow into and have fun figuring out, and for my own sanity, I knew I didn’t want to get her anything noisy or plastic.
After noticing just how much she enjoyed getting into the kitchen cabinets and pulling out Tupperware, bowls and bottles, I knew there was only one thing to get her: a play kitchen. But after seeing all of the cute remodels on Pinterest, I knew I didn’t just want to buy a kitchen. I wanted to customize it!
I wanted her kitchen to be in our living space, and not tucked away in her room, so far from the real deal (AKA Mama’s kitchen). So I wanted to choose something that would complement the room that it would be in.
The weekend before her birthday party, I called a friend and asked her to pick up a DUKTIG play kitchen from IKEA, while I gathered the rest of the remodel supplies.
Here’s a list:
- Matte white spray paint
- Champagne Mist all-surface spray paint
- Sand paper (fine grit)
- Poster board
- Stick-on tile
We have a handful of gold accents in our home, so I wanted a touch of gold on her kitchen, and the matte white paint goes with, well… everything. It’s matte white!
It was a pretty simple project! I started by spraying the “hardware” because the gold all-purpose spray paint took longer to cure than the white spray paint.
Slowly but surely I sprayed all of the pieces of the kitchen, making sure to lightly sand (when needed) between coats. After everything was dry, it was time to assemble! Anything from IKEA can be a nightmare to put together. My husband jokes that it would be easier to cut down our own tree than to put together furniture from IKEA, but I have to say, this was the easiest thing I’ve assembled! It took me less than 30 minutes.
Next, I measured the open space in the kitchen that I wanted to fill with a back splash. I cut the poster board to fit, and then covered the poster board with the sticky tile. I linked a similar tile to the one I used on my supplies list, but I actually found this tile on sale at Walmart for $5 while I was stocking up on a spray paint refill. It was a very lucky find!
Once the backsplash was on, the kitchen looked complete! I loved how versatile the simple color pallet was. I think it will be so fun to add little details for special occasions like Valentine’s Day, Easter, or other holidays! But since we threw her a peach themed birthday party, we styled it to match.
I found this pint-sized tea towel on sale at Joanne’s Fabrics and couldn’t believe how perfect it was for Lively’s kitchen and her birthday party.
Before:
After:
It was a decent little project for the 48 hours I had to compete it. It was so fun to see her face light up when she saw the kitchen that was just her size. She let out a little sequel when she opened the little cabinets. It was the perfect gift for our little chef.
Tomorrow, our sweet baby will turn one. Happy almost birthday, Lively!
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